Daddy's Little Girl
by Magali1
Summary: Continuation of Julie and Lyla's scene at the Taylor house in "The Giving Tree." ; Lyla POV


**A/N:** I wrote this awhile ago, just freshened it up to share. It's Julie and Lyla, which was a relationship I always wished they'd explored on the show, but never really did. Continuation of their scene in "The Giving Tree." Just my thoughts. Enjoy :)

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"It's like, you know…I'm not Daddy's little girl anymore."

I know what that feels like, she thinks, agreeing softly. She looked down at her hands, sitting on the floor in the sleeping bag and blankets. She feels like she isn't Daddy's little girl anymore either. For quite some time she hasn't felt like that. It could have been that first night she spent with Jason, or when was against her car on the side of the road with Tim…or maybe when the entire town of Dillon found out about her sex life.

She smiles at Julie, who just seems lost. "Hey," she says, quiet. "Trust me, if there's someone in this room who has disappointed their dad, it isn't you."

"You mean you?" Julie laughs and shakes her head, crawling underneath her covers to prop her head up, turned towards her. She smiles again. "You're perfect Lyla."

I really don't like when people say that, she thinks, shaking her head. "No, I'm far from perfect. I don't know if you noticed, but for the better part of a year I was a slut and a whore…you know. That whole thing."

"That's not…I don't know why people were saying that. I mean, half the Rally Girls have all cheated on their boyfriends with Panthers, but you…it was just a sad thing, you know?" Julie sits up a bit, reaching to pick at her nail polish. "So…I was just…my mom doesn't know, but…did you tell your mom when you…you know?"

That was something she never told her mom. Not until after the whole Tim debacle when the entire town knew she had a sex life. "No," she whispers, lifting her eyes through her dark lashes. This might be a time she can help. Use her mistakes to help. "No, but…if I can say something…you need to talk to her. Moms are good for talking and for support and something like this…" She shrugs. "You don't realize it now but you'll wake up one morning and realized it changes you."

Julie nods, playing with her fingers. She lifts her eyes. "Was Tim…"

"No," she laughs, shaking her head. "Shockingly. In fact, use that with your dad, when he talks to you about Matt. Say it could have been Tim."

"I think Tim would get killed, just for being mentioned," Julie laughs.

She grins. "Probably. It isn't like he hasn't had fathers chasing him down anyway." She lifts her chin, shaking her head a little. Her eyes lifted again, studying Julie, sitting on the bed biting her thumbnail, fretting over this. To be young, she thinks, suddenly feeling so old. She whispers. "You'll be fine Julie. You have parents that understand and love you and…and…don't go trashing strip joints or moving off to California, for what it's worth." She smiles, looking over at Julie's window.

Julie frowns, glancing at the window. "What's that sound?"

She recognizes the light tapping. Her eyes roll. "Damnit," she sighs, pushing up from the floor and walking around the bed. She leans on the window and turns her head, apologizing in advance. "Sorry about…him. Just be glad Matt doesn't do stuff like this."

"Like what?" Julie asks, getting up off the bed to go close the door. She shrugs. "You want a minute? I'm sure they're not done talking in there about killing me."

"No, you're fine." She opens the window, leaning on the ledge as he jumps over the flowers to lean on the window with her. She smiles, when she should probably be annoyed he's bothering her or potentially putting himself in a situation to get in trouble. "Hello Tim Riggins."

"I was looking for that shirt."

"It looks better on me."

"And that I have to agree with." He smiles, his face warm. He brushes his nose over hers, his eyes narrowing. "Are you okay? Wanted to check. You sounded weird on the phone."

What a good boyfriend you are, who would ever have thought? She nods, her arms going around his neck. To make him feel like she's fine, she drops a kiss to his lips. "I'm fine, I promise. If something else happens with my dad I'll come to your house, but I hope I don't have to."

He doesn't say anything, which makes her wonder if he knows something more than he's telling about her dad. He wraps his arms around her shoulders, hugging tight, his lips brushing her ear. "You need anything…"

"I'll call you, I promise." She kisses him one last time, squeezing his hands. "Go. We've already got guy trouble in this house, I don't want you busted either."

"Yeah, I heard." He leans around her, grinning and waving at Julie. "Hey, heard from Seven, next time, word to the wise, lock the door!"

Julie's mouth falls, speechless.

She immediately pushes him out of the window and slams it shut, tugging at the curtains and turning, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about him."

"No," Julie sighs, shaking her head. "He's right, we should have locked the door. I can't believe Matt told him though. Gross."

"Matt probably just told one guy. They talk almost as much as girls so don't get too down on him." She sinks back down into the sleeping bag, her fingers folding together. She's really tired all of a sudden. But, she can still see Julie is freaking out, silently, but still. "I'm sure it will be fine Julie. If my dad came to terms with me dating Tim, well…your dad will understand too."

"Your dad is understanding of you and Tim? After he knows about your history?"

Put it that way, not so much. "Okay, not so much understanding as…he's come to terms with it. Accepted that he can't change it. It's done. Daddy's little girl is not…" She shrugs, her face calm and voice soft. "Is not Daddy's little girl."

Julie nods again. She smiles, teasing. "Do you love Tim? Because he seems like he loves you. Coming over to take care of you and everything. That seems like a good guy."

She nods. Yeah, he is a good guy. It's too bad only a few people were able to see it. She tugs his t-shirt down a little over her knees, lifting her head again. It's the first time she'd be admitting it, but…it feels right. She nods again, whispering. "I do love Tim. Best mistake I ever made."

"You think it was a mistake?"

"Not really a mistake, just…a part of my life that at the time seemed bad, but ended up being good." She shrugs again. "Things happen for a reason, just like…like how this whole thing with Matt and your dad and everything won't seem so bad one day, once you know the reason."

"Do you think you guys are going to stay together forever? Matt makes it seem like we'll…get married one day. I don't think about it, but it seems like it." Julie lies back in bed, her questions coming fast as she thinks of them. "I mean, does Tim like…is he nice with you? Matt's really nice with me. I wish I could get the parental units to understand that it could be worse."

This is nice. Even with a sister she never felt anything other than a glorified babysitter for her. She rests her head on her arm, lifting her shoulders. It's a lot to think about. "I…I don't know about me and Tim." Sometimes she lets herself think like she used to with Jason. Let her mind wander about them getting engaged and married and having kids. It's funny, because with Jason she could see it all so clearly. The color and cut of her ring, her dress, her wedding china…the names of their kids. The type of house they'd buy.

With Tim, it's all messy. Fuzzy. She shakes her head, her brow furrowing. "I…it's messy. Sometimes I think yeah, we can make it work through college, but...I don't know. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She shrugs again, her voice faraway. "Maybe one day…even if we break up or something." She doesn't want to think about that now, wants to savor what she has with him as long as possible. It's different than Jason. Very, very different.

"As for if he's nice…well…" She feels a flush in her cheeks. She's comfortable in her sexuality. Maybe that's why Julie is asking her about all this, talking to her so seriously about it. "Well yeah. I mean…I wouldn't be with him if he wasn't nice to me. Treated me well. In bed and out," she laughs. She smiles, cocking her head at Julie's sudden goofy smile, as though remembering something. "So…how do you feel when you're with Matt? Does your heart kind of race a bit? Always wondering what he's going to do next?"

"Not really, but Matt's kind of predictable," Julie giggles. She smiles wide. "But I love him. I know I do."

It's nice to see someone who is…hopelessly in love. Like she used to be with Jason. Those first loves are so…new and exciting. She smiles, but doesn't say anything to Julie, who is still experiencing her first love. It's funny. There are the first loves, like Jason, but…she doesn't know what Tim is. Just that he's different than Jason.

Julie cocks her head. "Did you love Jason? That first love thing?"

"Yeah," she answers immediately, smiling. She looks down at her fingernails, picking at a scratch of nail polish on her thumbnail. She lifts her head again. "He was my first love."

"And Tim? I mean…you can love two people, I'm not…not dumb about that, but…seems different." Julie narrows her eyes, as though studying her. Until she figures what she's going to ask, her voice quiet. "Is he the love of your life? I mean…" She rolls her eyes. "A life that's…as young as ours?"

Love of your life, wow. That seems so finite. She shrugs. "I don't know. I hope so. I hope he is, because he wasn't my first love. He's my…he's weird." She has no idea what Tim is to her, what he will be one day to her. She takes a deep breath and grins up at Julie. "Whatever my love with Tim is, when it comes to your first love, enjoy it. If I can tell you anything, enjoy it and savor it and don't grow up too fast. Don't be talking about marriage when you're only in high school. Things can change." In an instant, your whole life can change, she thinks.

"Why? What happens then?" Julie asks, slightly fearful.

She smiles, to lighten it up. "Because…" How can she explain this, looking up at the ceiling, smiling wide. "Because you can fool around and goof off and just be teenagers, but…sometimes it feels like you're trying to rush through it to get to the end of the day when you're sitting around watching TV or reading magazines together and not talking. You can have both. That new and exciting thing and then that…that old married couple feeling, but, don't rush the old married couple thing."

Julie narrows her eyes, laughing. "You and Tim an old married couple?" She shrugs a little, smiling and slumping down against her headboard. "I guess I can see it. Tim seems like he's forty year old trapped in a seventeen year old, the way he talks."

"That's actually very accurate."

Julie leans over and flicks the light off, smiling over at her in the dim darkness. She whispers, barely audible, looking away. "Thank you Lyla."

"Anytime Julie." She's more than happy to help when she can. Especially seeing how…excited Julie was. That excited and scared nervous feeling of young love.

The next morning, she wakes up early, leaving a note for Mrs. Taylor to thank her for letting her spend the night, but she needs to get to school early. She walks out front, stopping in her tracks, smiling a little. "What are you doing here?" she wonders out loud, going towards the truck, where he's already waiting. "I told you I'd just go with Julie to school?"

"I wanted to surprise you." He smiles.

She takes a deep breath and reaches for him, pulling him against her for a very long, sweet kiss.

He breaks away a second later, grinning. "Not that I'm complaining, but what's that for?"

She lifts an eyebrow, smiling softly. "Because." She takes a deep breath. It probably isn't the right time, but they both know it. Might as well say it, right? "Because I think I might love you."

It's the first time she's said it, anything close to those three little words, so she settles back in the truck, reaching for her seatbelt. She smiles at him, cocking her head at his somewhat stunned expression. "Put your seat-belt on."

He just looks at her for another second before he smiles, but says nothing, doing as she says and driving away. They say nothing, until they're at school and she climbs out, walking around to thread her fingers in his hand. Again, something she almost never does. He stares down at their joined hands, going with her towards the school, leaning in to whisper into her ear, chuckling. "You drunk or something Garrity?"

"No, I'm thinking clearly." She kisses his cheek. "Come on, let's go study."

"I can think of some other things we can do besides studying."

"Not in the library Tim."

"Why not?"

She shakes her head, poor Julie's situation will forever remind her one very important thing. She opens the door to the library, letting him walk in ahead of her. "There's no lock on the door."

**_THE END_**


End file.
